PwC, a tax and business consulting firm, plans to supply power to its Southbank office space using only chip fat sourced from restaurants, bars, and other businesses within London.
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The firm has just signed a deal for the biggest-ever office supply of chip fat. Every week, two 6,000-litre tankers, filled with used cooking oil from all over London, will supply the company’s new tri-generation facility.
Caterer Aramark will be responsible for securing used cooking oil from other offices around London, and Arrow Oil will source it from restaurants and bars.
Two massive oil-fired generators in the office building will supply 25 per cent of the electricity. Additionally, 20 per cent of the building’s heating and cooling will also come from the generators.
Jon Barnes, Head of Building & Facilities Services, PwC said: “When you think of green technologies you don’t think of used oil from a kitchen, but the reality is these technologies offered us a real low carbon alternative to traditional fuel. It was an ambitious plan, when you realise a small restaurant might use 10 to 20 litres a week, and you see the scale of the deal we’re talking about, for just one site.”
“Securing the supply within the M25 was essential, as otherwise the carbon footprint for moving the oil increases and would have defeated the purpose of investing in the low carbon technology.”
PwC is aiming for a reduction in energy use per square metre of office space by 25 per cent by the year 2012. So far the company has succeeded in reducing energy by 16 per cent.
Editor’s notes: We recently updated this article about the Co-Operative Group unveiling plans for its NOMA scheme at MIPIM in 2011
The first building that was completed at that scheme was One Angel Square – the new headquarters of The Co-Op.
That property is powered by a biodiesel cogeneration plant that uses waste rapeseed oil to convert to electricity and heat. The building achieved BREEAM Outstanding accreditation for this and many other environmentally friendly initiatives.
In August 2025, it was reported that PwC was reviewing its London office footprint and was live in the market with a 300,000-square-foot requirement. At the time, it occupied approximately 300,000 square feet at 1 Embankment Place, WC2, on a lease expiring in 2030, and approximately 425,000 square feet at 7 More London Riverside, SE1, in London Bridge / Southbank, on a lease with a 2035 expiry.
In April 2026, it was reported that it had chosen One Eden in Canary Wharf, the building formerly known as 33 Canada Square and then serving as Citigroup’s temporary European, Middle East, and Africa headquarters.
Marco Amitrano, senior partner of PwC UK, stated the group was “excited by the prospect of expanding our London property footprint to include One Eden at Canary Wharf in 2030.”, indicating that it would be vacating 1 Embankment Place at that time.